Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1948)

T h e S (age A reliable guide to recent pictures. One check means good; two checks, very good; three checks, outstanding Teresa Wright and Dana Andrews in a great, human tale of post-war today James Basket! and Bobby Driscoll in film combining real and Disney folk Gene Tierney and Tyrone Power in the powerful story of a man’s search pW The Best Years of Our Lives (Samuel Goldwyn) TIMELY as today’s headlines, “Best Years” is so fundamentally honest and warmly human that it hits you between the eyes and touches the heart simultaneously. Robert E. Sherwood’s script based on MacKinlay Kantor’s novel tells of three men, back in their home town after long service in the war: Dana Andrews, a captain in the Air Forces, once a soda jerker but now ready for bigger and better things; Fredric March, a sergeant returning to a responsible bank position; Harold Russell, a sailor whose steel hooks replace the hands lost in an explosion. March is the luckiest of the three, for he has Myrna Loy as his understanding wife, Teresa Wright as his lovely daughter, a fine son (Michael Hall) and a good job awaiting him. In addition, he has a healthy outlook on life and a capacity to enjoy himself. The disabled sailor is comparatively lucky, too, in having a loyal sweetheart (Cathy O’Donnell) to help him over the hurdles. It isn’t in the cards for Dana Andrews to get those breaks. His wife Virginia Mayo is a knockout on looks but a washout when it comes to character. Essentially a simple story for and about John and Jane Doe of these United States, this could easily have been a preachy and pretentious production. But that was not the purpose of the top-flight producer, writer, director and actors, who pooled their considerable skill and artistry to create a well-nigh perfect picture of our post-war era. We can send it throughout the world with pride to say, “This is America!” Your Reviewer Says: 14-karat all the way. kV Song of the South (Walt Disney-RKO) DESCRIBING this as his “first live-action feature,” Disney injects a dash of realism— merely a dash, mind you!— in his world of whimsy, introducing flesh-andblood folk along with the make-believe variety. Heading the list is James Baskett as Uncle Remus, a soft-spoken old darkie who tells entrancing tales to little boys and girls. His most attentive listener is solemn-faced Bobby Driscoll. Bobby and his mother, Ruth Warrick, are visitors at Granny Lucille Watson’s plantation. Lonesome for his daddy in Atlanta, Bobby tries to run away, but pauses long enough to listen to Uncle Remus’s account of how bold Br’er Rabbit outwitted wicked Br’er Fox. In open-mouthed wonder, Bobby stays to hear more; equally fascinated by it all is his pretty little playmate, Luana Patten. This simple story, interspersed with several jolly tunes, rambles along leisurely. It’s Disney in a dreamy, once-upon-a-time mood, assuring us that life is funny, life is fair (not earnest and real, as the copybooks have it). And just to prove it, his bluebirds are bluer, his grass is greener, his sky is sunnier than any you’ve seen before. By the same token, his fox is foxier and his rabbit more rabbity than ever created by Mother Nature. But as Uncle Remus would put it, that’s “mighty satisfactional!” Your Reviewer Says: A pleasant pipedream v'v' The Razor’s Edge (20th Century-Fox) IT isn’t every day in the week that we are treated to such a super-duper production, combining as it does a starstudded cast headed by Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, and a story from the pen of famous novelist, Somerset Maugham. A rather curious, leisurely told tale, full of moral precepts, it revolves around an idealistic but restless young man in search of knowledge and peace of mind. Tyrone Power (it’s good to have him back from the wars!) acts far more ethereal than he looks as Larry Darrell who strives to adjust himself to life after a narrow escape from death in World War I. He is engaged to conventional Gene Tierney, a little lady who wants to eat her cake and have it, too. When Tyrone’s interests center on less worldly goals than her own, rich John Payne seems a likely substitute — at ( Continued least temporarily. Blending sweetness and superficiality, Gene appears very willowy in the long dresses of the day but strikes too many poses as if aware of that camera a few feet away. The film’s secondary theme deals with the tragic fate of Anne Baxter whose portrayal of a lost woman provides some of the finest acting we’ve seen this season or any season. Clifton Webb revels in the role of a society snob and Herbert Marshall gives a restrained performance as author Maugham. What the picture lacks in dramatic power it makes up for in atmospheric background, its rich and 'varied settings —Chicago, Paris, India — being better than a Cook’s Tour. Your Reviewer Says: A whale of a show. on page 6) 4 For Best Pictures of the Month and Best Performances See Page 10 For Complete Casts of Current Pictures See Page 136 For Brief Reviews of Current Pictures See Page 133